


Rebirth

by AmaranthPrincess21



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 05:32:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1676522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmaranthPrincess21/pseuds/AmaranthPrincess21
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Your disappearance has been quite the talk about Mitras, and although it hasn't been long the news has reached a lot of ears, including those of a few certain high-ups in the Survey Corps. When they see you being forced into a house, they take action and rescue you from your kidnappers. However, you're not dealing with this situation all that well . . .<br/>Trigger warning for parental issues, suicidal thoughts, kidnapping, and self-imposed victim blaming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rebirth

**Author's Note:**

> This is a piece I wrote for a contest currently happening on deviantart, and since I still have it coded in my word program, I decided to upload it here! The theme was spring, and I like fluff and stuff, but I wanted to write something a bit edgier so I chose the more rebirth-y side of spring! You can also find this one-shot on my deviantart account as well (under the same name as this one)

Your hair was done in a half-up, half-down style; a [h/c] bun sat on top of your head while ringlet curls cascaded down from your head. You were breathing heavily, your red lips parted as you stared numbly at the ground. You knelt, sitting on the backs of your calves, even though you knew you shouldn’t: you were getting your gorgeous, pastel-colored damask gown dirty. Your dainty lace gloves had seen better days, tears in the fabric and spots of red ruining the garments. You were trembling, staring at the wood floor in front of you. You were acutely aware of the two men and the woman standing in the room with you and the five figures lying on the ground. You were also acutely aware of the crimson blood seeping from their bodies and the fact their blood was staining your dress. 

And then the full, cold reality of your situation hit you like a ton of bricks. 

“Tch, let’s clean this up before -” your throat-splitting screams interrupted the short, black-haired man. You kept screaming, tears falling from your [e/c] eyes. _Five men just got killed in front of me. FIVE MEN JUST GOT KILLED IN FRONT OF ME,_ you thought hysterically as you screamed. He hurried towards you, untying the cravat around his neck and forcing it over your mouth as a gag. “Shut up! Do you want to attract more attention to us?!” he yelled at you, grabbing your chin and forcing you to stare him in the eye as you kept screaming. Just that morning those men had done the same thing. “Just calm to fuck down!” His words meant nothing to you in your state of shock, and you kept screaming. _EVERYONE GET AWAY FROM ME! I JUST WANNA GO HOME AND SIT IN MY BED AND BE ALONE AND BE CLEAN! I WANT TO BE AWAY FROM HERE! I WANT MY MAMA!_

“Levi, stop it, you’re going to scare her!” the brunette woman wearing glasses harshly scolded him, heavily limping over towards you two. She had a deep gash on her leg, and had to lower herself onto the bloody ground cautiously. She swatted him away and wrapped her arms around your shoulders, pulling you into a hug. “Shh, shh. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” she said soothingly, her hand petting your hair. Your screams got quieter and less animalistic as she ran her fingers through your ringlet curls. You wouldn’t say you felt calmer with this woman holding you as a mother would her child; it was more of a numbness that seeped from your head into the rest of your body as the woman cradled you. “You’re safe. Those traffickers won’t hurt you anymore. Shh, you’re going to be okay. We’re going to clean you up, okay? And then we’re going to get you a nice clean set of clothes, and I’m going to go get you some food. Doesn’t food sound nice?” You meekly nodded, your screams turning into whimpers until you finally fell silent. You assessed your situation: you had been grabbed by these now dead men, they had taunted you as they transferred you here, and had done all of this with the intent on selling you to someone. _If Mother and Father found out I was in such a bad part of town and that this has happened, oh God, they’d kill me._

“And once you’ve had all the food you could ever want, we’re gonna take you home. How does that sound?” You made a noise to indicate your agreement, tears still running down your face as the memory of her slicing off a man’s arm flashed in your mind’s eye. _But, if these soldiers are here, that means everyone knows I was missing. Everyone knows I got abducted. Mother and Father must be so ashamed of what’s happened. They’ll say I shamed the family by venturing into that part of town and that I brought this upon myself even though I didn’t ask to be abducted. I didn’t want any of this; I just wanted to have a nice walk outside since it was pretty yesterday morning._ “That’s great. Now, let’s stand up and find a bathroom to clean you off in.” 

Levi grabbed you roughly, pulling you to your feet before turning to help the struggling brunette up. You didn’t fully register that you had been pulled to your feet, and you would fallen to the ground if Levi hadn’t quickly caught you. The tall blond male had stepped in and helped the brunette stand up as you tried to stand on your own but found that your legs were shaking too hard to support yourself. The blond man turned to Levi. 

“I’m going to take Hange to the doctor and talk to the Military Police about this. Can you help her,” the man jerked his head to you. “With getting cleaned up?” 

“Erwin, are you seriously asking me if I can help clean?” Levi snorted as you clung to his shoulders, trying to steady your body. “Yes, I’ll help her. Are we sure we’re alone in this house?” 

“I don’t know for certain, so be on guard. Take your gear with you and barricade the bathroom door, just in case.” Erwin suggested. Levi nodded. 

“Okay. Come on, brat, let’s find a shower so you can get all this blood off of you.” the word slapped you in the face, reminding you of your physical state right now, and you let out another shriek. Levi’s hand flew to your already gagged mouth, muffling you even more. “Will you fucking stop screaming every five seconds?” 

“Hey, hey, sweetie, it’s okay. You’ll be squeaky clean in a few minutes, you don’t need to worry. Levi may be an asshole but he’ll make sure that you’ll be clean, okay?” Hange said calmly, like someone trying to soothe a hysterical animal. _Stop screaming, you idiot,_ a voice in your head told you harshly. _What if you attract more attention and more people find out what’s happened? You’ll just be more of a disgrace than you already are now, with letting this happen to yourself and screaming like a lunatic. Get a hold of yourself._ You nodded and ceased your screeching. _Please, be careful. You’ve already gotten so hurt,_ you thought as Erwin helped Hange out of the room. _That’s all because of you, you know,_ the voice told you. _She wouldn’t have gotten hurt if she hadn’t tried to save you from those men._ Levi roughly grabbed your arm, putting it around his shoulders before putting his arm around your waist. 

“Let’s find you something decent to wear,” he said gruffly, helping you walk out of the room. Your blood-soaked silk slippers made a disgusting squelching noise as you two walked down the hallway. 

The windows were open, letting a nice warm breeze into the home. It was a bright and sunny day outside, and you watched the gorgeous courtyard flow by as you walked down the hallway. _It’s so pretty outside. It doesn’t feel like it should be a nice day. Not with what just happened,_ you thought. You felt a stinging sensation in your arm. You yelped, and looked to see Levi had pinched your arm none too kindly. 

“I asked you a question, brat. What’s your name?” he repeated himself. 

“I – I . . .” you tried to say a complete sentence, but the words got caught in your throat. “[F-First].” you managed to tell him as he threw open a door at random. It was a bathroom, and a glorious one at that. White marble floors, a huge bathtub that could fit at least five people in it, a wardrobe, even a couch and a chair, and the icing on the luxurious cake was a French door that opened up to a balcony overlooking the grounds. _And I thought my family was ridiculously opulent,_ you thought as he placed you on the edge of the bathtub. _Oh God, what if I’ve ruined the prestige of a noble family by being found in their home? Mother and Father will be furious if I’ve brought a noble family to disgrace. They’ll kill me when they find out._ While you were in a reverie Levi dragged a chair and sofa in front of the door, making sure that if the lock was broken, people would have a hard time getting in. 

“Are we the only ones in this house?” Levi’s baritone voice pulled you out of your thoughts. Your head shot up. _What?_ you silently asked him, giving him a perplexed look. He sighed in irritation. “I asked you if we’re alone in this house. If someone’s going to storm in here and kill us, I would like to be prepared for it.” You shrugged to convey that you were unsure of if you were alone in the house. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance. 

“Cat suddenly got your tongue?” he said, almost in a scolding manner. “You were certainly good at being vocal a few moments ago.” His words, although you had a gut feeling that he hadn’t meant it, hurt you, but you remained silent, looking down to the marble floor. Your [e/c] eyes saw his feet as he stood beside you, leaning behind you and turning the facet on. You turned your head to look at him; he was quite handsome, you realized as you watched him. In fact, in any other situation, you would have flirted with him. But right now you were in too much shock to even speak, let alone be coy with him. _The neighbors will say that’s what got me into this mess. That I was too flirty with other men and I had it coming. But I never mean to be flirty. I only intend to be friendly._

_Of course you had it coming. Flirty or friendly, it’s not something you should be and it brought you here. God, your parents made a mistake having you,_ the voice in your head scolded you. He leaned back and you went back to looking at the ground. You saw his shoes directly in front of yours. When you still remained silent and didn’t acknowledge him, his slender fingers grasped your chin to make you look up at him. He was gentler this time, and the feeling of his rough fingers on your smooth skin made your stomach feel queasy, but in a good way that you had never felt before. 

“Can you bathe yourself or will I have to help you?” he asked, looking at you indifferently as his hand fell away from your face. The only sound in the room was the sound of water raining down into the bathtub as you stared up at him, face dead. He gave you an irritated look. “I don’t have all day, brat. You need to be clean before Erwin returns.” You simply kept staring at him, unable to say anything. You just felt tired and numb. The normal you would have turned redder than a tomato at his offer, but right now your face remained clammy, just like it had been since you were grabbed off the streets early yesterday morning. His grey eyes glared at you, and there was the sound of rustling cloth as he took off his jacket and pushed his sleeves up. “All right. Stand up. I’m getting this show on the road. I don’t want the MP’s to show up and have you in the middle of a bath. God knows what’ll happen.” You stood up, turning so your back faced Levi. 

He grabbed the laces in the back of your dress and started undoing them. The damask gown fell to your feet while he muttered darkly under his breath. Air rushed into you, lungs expanding as much as possible now as Levi undid your corset. His knuckles brushed the nape of your neck as he scrunched up the collar of your shift and pulled it over your head. His hands were warm. He placed one of them in between your shoulder blades, nudging you to get in the bathtub. “Let’s be clear on this,” he told you sternly as you climbed into the warm water. “If my clothes get wet _at all_ during this, you will regret it. Got it?” You nodded. “Good. Give me your arm.” 

You raised your arm as he rubbed some soap onto a sponge. He attacked your arm, rubbing it down harshly with the sponge. A whimper made its way out of your throat, eliciting an annoyed-sounding noise out of his. 

“I’m getting you clean, you don’t have room to complain if it hurts or not.” he said harshly. “Would you like to do this, since apparently I’m too thorough for your liking?” You shook your head. “You don’t _want_ to bathe yourself or you _can’t_ bathe yourself?” he demanded. You said nothing, and he sighed, commencing rubbing your arm down, but gentler this time. _He’s awfully kind for doing this, especially after all that’s happened,_ you thought. 

_You don’t deserve this man’s kindness, don’t forget,_ the voice in your head told you. You sighed. 

_I know I don’t. I got his friend injured, since she got hurt rescuing me. Not too mention Mother and Father would be so mad and ashamed that I’m letting him wash me and let him undress me. Not to mention I’m nineteen years old and should be able to cope with this sort of thing._ You sighed again. _My parents really would be in a fury right now if they knew everything that has happened._

“Leg,” he ordered sharply, letting go of your arm. You lifted your foot out of the warm water. He washed your foot before grabbing it, helping you keep it in the air as he washed your calves. There was something comforting about being pampered like this that put your mind at ease. It also helped that the room was nice and warm from all the sunlight pouring in. But although there was a calming sense about this situation, you couldn’t help but feel your heart flutter as he grasped the arch of your foot and scrubbed your shins and calf. _What will I do when I return home? Try to explain to my parents that this was just the result of a nice walk turned horrifically wrong? No, they’ll say all this fresh air and flowery smells have gone to my head and clouded my judgment. I just wanted to go outside and walk around the park a little bit, what’s so wrong about that? No, I should have gone to the park right outside our home. But this one so far away had such a reputation for being filled with nice trees, and I wanted to see something new. My parents are going to kill me for even knowing about a park in a lower part of town. I should have just stayed indoors. How am I going to redeem my honor? Can I even redeem myself?_

“Other leg.” he said after he went to the other side of the tub, and once again you obeyed. “I heard from the missing persons report that you were last seen near the entrance of the underground city. Why the hell would you go down there, especially alone?” he asked. You remained silent, staring out through the window. It was truly a gorgeous day, and you felt a rush of hatred for it. _Why is it so nice today? It shouldn’t be nice today. Not after everything that’s happened._ “Did someone force you down there?” _What would happen if I got out of the tub and just threw myself off of the balcony? How mad would this man become if I were to do that? How irritated would my parents be?_ “You realize you’re going to have to talk to the MP’s once they get here right?” _Is it possible to be deathly allergic to bee stings? Should I try and find out?_

Levi fell silent as he gazed at you with a hard look in his eyes. You didn’t notice his stare, as you were in too deep of thought to notice. Something must have clicked in his head, because his hard grey eyes softened. “Get out of the tub. We’re going to take a break.” _What if I pretended to slip and fall? Would banging my head against the bath tub effectively kill me? Hell, would suicide even restore the honor I’ve lost? Or only make things worse?_ you wondered as you stood up, taking the towel Levi handed you and drying yourself off. You felt a robe being put on you, and he tied it securely to hide your nakedness. Walking over to the French door, he motioned for you to follow him. Your body moved instantaneously, shuffling over to meet him. He opened the door and you two stood on the balcony overlooking the lush courtyard. There was a warm breeze in the air, making the tree branches sway and the flowers dance in their places along the stone path. Levi leaned forward, elbows resting on the wrought iron railing. You copied his body language as you thought, _This is a nice courtyard, but God knows how many bodies are buried under those roses. And God knows if this will be my final resting place, too. But why does it have to be so nice? Why did this weather lead me to disgrace?_

_Don’t be a moron, this weather didn’t lead you to your social doom, you did. Stop misblaming things,_ the voice in your head tortured you. _You have no one to blame but yourself and you should just end everything now to escape further disgrace._

“You realize none of this is your fault, right?” Levi asked you; you remained silent. “You should blame those pathetic excuses for human beings for this. But don’t blame yourself. You’re not going to incriminate yourself by speaking at all. You can’t incriminate yourself when you are not at fault.” He shortly exhaled. “All right, I want you to look around. What do you see?” You saw trees clad with emerald green leaves flourishing in harmony with bright blue, ruby red, and eye-popping pink flowers. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, [First], but it’s spring. And that means everyone’s allergies are acting up because everything’s in full bloom. Personally I think spring is the shittiest time of the year because of that. That and the rain. But, as you can see, there are clearly some good things about spring.” You nodded. _I wish it were rainy today. It would be more appropriate than this sunshine._ “Even if it rains and everyone’s having runny noses, at least we’ve got a decent place to do it in, granted you’re in a garden and not looking up at those God-awful walls. 

“Which brings me to another point. A few months ago everything was dead. Trees looked like crap, plants looked like crap, fucking sleet was in the streets and making things terrible as it always does, and it was cold as fuck all of the time. If I asked you to stand out here a few months ago, we’d be freezing our asses off in a dead garden. But now, there are trees and flowers in full bloom. Spring isn’t just a time of nice gardens and shitty allergies, [First]; it’s a time for rebirth. If the earth can go from being dead and cold to being vibrant and full of color, I’m sure you can too. I understand that this was a traumatic experience for you, and you may not _completely_ recover from it, but you can certainly get better. Just like the earth makes the transition of winter to spring, you’ll get better.” You looked to him, [e/c] eyes the size of saucers; his words struck a chord with you. He was right. At this very moment, you were in the winter of your life, cold and dead inside. But eventually, you would heal and enter the springtime of your life. Winter never lasts forever; eventually, it always gives in to spring. Your state right now was not going to last forever either, and although you knew that just like it occasionally rains in spring, this experience would never fully go away and that that horrid voice in your head would pipe up every so often, but you were going to get better for the most part someday. 

“T-thank you, sir. For everything.” you said as he turned to look at you. 

“Tch. It’s about time you spoke coherent sentences,” he replied. “You shouldn’t thank me. It’s something anyone should do. Now, come on, let’s go back inside before I start dripping snot everywhere. I’ll guard the door and you can finish getting cleaned up.” You strode side by side with him back into the bathroom, carrying yourself a little higher than you had just a few minutes ago.


End file.
